UN: Consequences of war threaten future generations in Gaza

Gaza (Union)

The United Nations’ Senior Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, considered yesterday that the war on Gaza has unleashed a spiral of human misery in which the public health system has collapsed and the education system has been disrupted, threatening future generations.
In her briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, Kach stressed that ambitious planning for reconstruction in Gaza requires generous funding, noting the vital role played by the Palestinian Authority in the Strip to implement the recovery process.
She explained that reconstruction in Gaza means building or renovating more permanent housing, restoring health and sanitation systems, rehabilitating schools, and supporting about 17,000 children who were orphaned by the war.
The UN official pointed out that more than a million people were displaced again from Gaza following the Israeli attack on the city of Rafah last May, desperately searching for safety and shelter.
Kach expressed deep concern over reports of new evacuation orders in the Khan Younis area and their impact on the civilian population. She also addressed the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2720, which established a framework to accelerate, expedite and simplify the delivery of aid throughout Gaza.
She stressed that there is a need for a continuous flow of aid to Gaza to deliver supplies of quality and quantity through all land and sea crossings, including the Rafah border crossing.
She pointed out that since the start of the Israeli military operation in Rafah and the closure of the Rafah crossing last May, the volume of aid entering and distributed through Gaza has decreased significantly.
In this regard, Kach called for expanding the scope of the Jordan corridor and the volume of aid entering through the Zikim and Erez crossings, opening additional crossings, especially to southern Gaza, in addition to urgently reopening the Rafah crossing.
The UN official also called for urgent action to be taken regarding the establishment of an effective and predictable system for avoiding military-humanitarian conflict and coordination throughout Gaza and continued access to all security and communications equipment as well as vital humanitarian materials needed.
In a related context, more than 150,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been infected with skin diseases due to the unsanitary conditions that the displaced have been living in in shelters and tents since the beginning of the war, according to the World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization confirmed 96,417 cases of scabies and lice in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 9,274 cases of chickenpox, 60,130 cases of skin rash, and 10,038 cases of impetigo.
The World Health Organization warned of the spread of other diseases in the camps for the displaced resulting from lack of hygiene, noting that 485 thousand cases of diarrhea have been reported due to the exacerbation of malnutrition.